Among alternative cancer treatments, cannabis inhabits a peculiarly politicised position, hailed as a suppressed panacea by some, denounced as a psychosis-inducing and illegal drug by others. In the middle ground, there is a growing acceptance of the plant’s capacity for effective pain and nausea relief, and even tentative suggestions of potentiation of treatments such as chemotherapy and even direct action to restrain tumour cells by various routes. The doctor is immediately put in a compromising position: legally forbidden from advocating use, but professionally bound to ease suffering to the best of their abilities.
Cannabis and cancer: reality or pipe dream?
